Marbled Gingerbread Cake
This Marbled Gingerbread Cake is a delicious spin on classic gingerbread. The cheesecake-like swirl gives it a little something extra special to enjoy. Gingerbread gets its flavor from the rich, dark, molasses flavor in the batter enhanced with a seasonal blend of spices. What is molasses? Molasses is a by-product of sugar production. Once the juice of the sugar cane is boiled to remove the sugar crystals we all know and love, what's left behind is molasses. It can come in various levels of color, sweetness and even bitterness, depending on how many times it's boiled. The first boil results in the lightest color and most mild flavored molasses. On the other end of the spectrum is blackstrap molasses. It's typically boiled at least three times to reduce and increase in intensity. This process results in the thickest and most bitter tasting molasses.
The flavor of this cake can vary depending on the type of molasses used. Blackstrap molasses would be too bitter in this instance so, it's not an ideal choice. Use a quality, unsulphured molasses such as Grandma's Original unsulphured molasses or, your favorite brand.
This cake achieves the ideal thickness in a 12 x 8 inch dish or baking pan. It can be made in a 13 x 9 inch pan but, will be thinner. Should you choose to do so, it likely won't take as long to bake. Check for doneness with a toothpick inserted into the cake portion around 35-40 minutes and adjust the time from there.
Ingredients:
Marble:
- 12 oz plain cream cheese (1 and ½ blocks) softened
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
Cake:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground cloves or allspice
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
- 10 Tbsp salted butter softened
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup unsulphured molasses (not blackstrap)
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup buttermilk (not fat free)
- powdered sugar and whipped cream for serving